The 9th Public Art Awards ceremony took place at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei on Dec. 4, presenting 11 awards to 32 winners. Held once every two years, the Public Art Awards is the most prestigious and representative award for public art in Taiwan.
The event was attended by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Culture Li Yuan, and other distinguished guests. At the ceremony, Premier Cho expressed his hopes to promote art and bring it into daily life, while Minister Li noted that with the completion of law revision on public art regulations in August, the Ministry of Culture is encouraging aspiring artists to create more public artworks.
The grand prize of the event, the Excellence Award, was presented to the Department of Rapid Transit Systems, Taipei City Government (臺北市政府捷運工程局) for the public art project featured throughout the Circular Line of the Taipei Metro.
Designed by French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux and French artist Daniel Buren, the art installations utilize distinctive colors and geometric shapes, integrated into the metro system itself, such as the design of the trains, the walls in the stations, and the colorful columns of the viaducts, breaking the boundaries of art.
A list of all the winners of the 9th Public Art Awards can be found on the website.